


and so i tell myself that i'll be strong

by argenttmccall



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Reunions, Season/Series 02, With some slight terror thrown into the mix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 22:22:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11746371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/argenttmccall/pseuds/argenttmccall
Summary: Based off the 'Thriller' trailer for season 2.It's the Mike and Eleven (and squad) reunion scene that we all deserve.





	and so i tell myself that i'll be strong

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly just can't wait for Mike and Eleven to reunite, so here you go.

Mike is the first one to spot Eleven, down the hall from them at their school after a year of her disappearance into the Upside Down. It feels like a punch to the gut, seeing her. She's wearing the same clothes as the last time he saw her, and her head is still shaved. She looks skinnier, and way dirty, so much so that his heart aches. Dustin and Lucas spot Eleven as well, and start to call out to her as Will's eyes widen and Max just looks at them all like they're crazy.

Their reunion is short lived, however, as Eleven locks eyes with Mike and he can see the terror in them.

“RUN!” Eleven screams at them as she sprints towards them. Mike automatically responds to that tone of voice, the one that says ‘Oh, shit, we're in danger!’. And suddenly, they're all running for their lives just like before, like no time has passed.

They head out the doors and across the school lawn, and right before the door slams shut behind them, they hear it.

The most horrible roar, a sound that chills Mike down to his _bones_. Will makes a high keening sound, something that Mike thinks he doesn't even know he's doing, and runs even faster.

“Where the hell are the bikes?!” Dustin shouts in a panic.

“On the other side of the school!” Lucas answers in between pants.

“What the hell was that?!” Max screeches, full blown panic in her face.

No one answers her, too busy trying to keep up. Eleven leads them deep into the woods by the school, like she knows them like the back of her hand. They run, and they run, and they run, until Mike’s lungs are burning and he can hear the others wheezing around him.

Before he thinks he can't go on anymore, they stop.

“Oh my god,” Dustin wheezes, tumbling down to sit on the ground. Max and Lucas throw themselves down next to him, chests heaving as they try to catch their breath.

Mike is doubled over, his hands on his knees and his legs trembling with exertion. Suddenly, he remembers, and his head shoots up, convinced that seeing her was just an illusion.

Except...she's still here.

Eleven. She's here, right in front of him.

She turns to look at him at the exact same time, and for a moment, everything feels like it slows down. It's just Mike and Eleven, heedless of the others around them that have stopped and stared at the both of them. Even Max, not knowing their history, stays quiet.

“Eleven,” Mike finally breathes out, a sudden lump in his throat. He can see her chin tremble, and her pretty brown eyes fill with tears.

“Mike,” Eleven whispers, and just like that, a dam is broken. He isn't sure which of them starts running first, just that they meet in the middle, crashing into each other and holding on. Mike holds Eleven tightly, still scared that she might yet disappear on him again. He stops trying to hold back his tears as Eleven buries her face into his shoulder and just _sobs_.

He has no idea what she must have been through in the past year, the only hints being the random flickers of panic and fear that Will sometimes gets on his face when he thinks they're not looking. Mike just shuts his eyes tightly and lets his tears fall, insanely thankful that she's back.

He feels more arms circling the both of them, until they're in the middle of a group hug. At this point they're all alternating between crying and laughing with sheer relief that they're still alive. Eleven’s sobs have tapered off until they're just sniffles, and she looks up at him.

“I found you,” she says quietly, and honestly Mike might just start crying again.

“We never stopped looking for you,” he says hoarsely, the boys voicing affirmatives.

“How did you get out?” Dustin asks, as they untangle themselves from their hug.

“Found a door,” Eleven says, going up to give him and Lucas quick hugs as well. She looks over at Will, understanding dawning in her eyes.

“Hello, Will.”

“Hi, Eleven. It's nice to finally meet you,” Will says with a sad smile. “I'm glad you got out of that... _place_.”

“You too,” she says.

“Okay, okay. Sorry to interrupt...whatever this is,” Max says suddenly, and Mike remembers that she's with them too. “But what in the _hell_ was that thing back at school?”

“The demogorgon? I thought we killed it,” Lucas asks worriedly, but both Eleven and Will shake their heads.

“It's worse,” Will says, and they can all hear the tremble in his voice.

“It followed me out,” Eleven says, wrapping her arms around herself as she starts to shake. Mike quickly sheds his jacket and puts it over her shoulders, ignoring the smirks from Dustin and Lucas.

“Okay, but what does it _want_?” Max says in a panicky tone, and Mike feels bad for her. It sucks to learn that real life monsters actually do exist and probably want to rip your face off.

“Me,” Will says miserably, as everyone turns to look at him in surprise.

Mike had known that _something_ was going on with Will, ever since he got back. But Will never talked about it, or the Upside Down. Every time Mike had tried to broach the topic, he got shut down harshly. Eventually, he just stopped trying, hoping that Will would at any point just start opening up to him again.

“So, what do we do now?” Lucas asks them. For a minute, no one says anything. Mike is just trying to get used to the idea that Eleven is really here, and that there's _another_ monster to defeat.

“We go find Chief Hopper,” Mike says finally. “He'll know what to do.”


End file.
